Beneath the Water
by bluejellooranges
Summary: The story of the kind old lady that Katniss meets in Catching Fire, Mags. She was quiet, lived passively. "They were determined that I would never have to pick up a weapon in my life."
1. Chapter 1

**Beneath the Water, the 12****th**** Annual Hunger Games: A Mags Story**

Disclaimer: I don't own Suzanne Collins' _The Hunger Games_ Trilogy.

X-X-X

They hide beneath the water. Those who step into the sea and blindly stab into it with a spear might as well been stabbing their own feet. As fishermen, we have to be quiet before seeing where the fish are.

I've learned that fish don't care when you're waiting to reel them in. They have a different clock from us. It changes. Fish are intelligent. They can tell when you are waiting for them. Humming, talking, even breathing, they can hear it all.

But if you're quiet enough, they can be caught. Waiting for fish sometimes takes a short time, sometimes a long time. The smarter ones can wait a full day before they deem it's safe to come out.

X-X-X

"Mags! You're sleeping again!"

Nick sploshed over to my small boat and flicked some water at me. He squinted in the bright sun.

"Oi! Nick, you scared away the fish! I could feel the bite," I rolled my eyes. Nick took the little rope loop at the bow and started to drag me back to shore.

Nick turned around to grin at me. "So, uh, mom and dad invited your parents over for dinner. They asked me to come get you."

I smiled. "You're washing the bowls because you scared the fish away. I only caught four today."

He laughed and pouted, before ruffling my hair. I blushed at his touch and looked down, hoping he wouldn't see my face.

Nick awkwardly took away his hand and we walked in silence to his family's, the Momose's, hut.

Nick's my neighbor and an occasional fishing buddy. We were best friends ever since childhood, but as we grew up, the distance between us grew, since we had different friends. However, Nick swings by my hut occasionally to say hi, to give us some bread or some salt, if we didn't have enough.

I've always wanted to be more than a friend to him though. It's a bit pathetic. Everyone in the school was dating each other, but I clung to our friendship, and our foolish promise to each other that we'd made when we were 10 that we'd marry each other.

X-X-X

Not a sound was made in the Momose's house.

"We hauled in two nets of fish in our team today. How much did your team bring in?" Nick's dad asked.

My dad replied stiffly, "Only one today. Maybe the fish are unhappy today."

Conversation was awkward around our table. Normally, we'd be laughing and having a hearty meal if we decided to eat together, but nobody really had the heart to say much. Tomorrow was the Reaping.

I glanced at Nick, but he wasn't his normal, cheerful self. His two brothers were also silent. Daniel, the eldest brother at 19, seemed to be focusing on a spot on the wall, and Gabriel, the youngest brother, at 14 picked pointlessly at his food.

Ever since the Rebellion ended, the Capitol started "The Hunger Games." Dad said that I was five when the Hunger Games started, to the horror of the district. We had just lost the rebellion and many people died trying to overthrow the Capitol. My mom and dad fought in the war too. My mom ended up losing an eye, and my father, a leg. They were determined that I would never have to pick up a weapon in my life.

"_When you kill, even if you know that person is your enemy, you can never bear to look at your own hands again", my father said._

Every year, Capitol would send someone called an escort to randomly pick a name of a boy and a name of a girl from the ages of 12 to 18. They would be called "tributes." They'd fight to the death on TV against other tributes from other districts. In the end, there'd only be one victor. The Hunger Games. You never knew who'd be reaped. Kids at school had been reaped and then killed brutally onscreen.

Family concern only went to a certain extent. Children who were reaped would not be substituted by their siblings.

Around the 5th Hunger Games, the District 1 and 2 tributes decided to ally. They appeared to have trained for the games, since they were all large and had great skill in combat. Training is illegal, but they do it anyways. Apparently it makes the game more interesting if some of the tributes are crazy killing machines. The richest districts were Districts 1, 2 and 4. That's why the District 1 and 2 tributes, the "Careers", always killed District 4 tributes especially brutally, because most of the money paid to the districts by the Capitol was split up between these three districts. District 1 and 2 hated splitting the money with us.

Sometimes, Careers even volunteered to be the Games, since they were confident in their abilities. District 4, like the other districts, never did.

By the time the 9th Hunger Games started District 4 had trained most of its 12 to 18 year old children. We didn't want to be punished anymore by the Careers just because we were District 4.

However, my parents never allowed me to train. They screamed when they dreamed at night, reliving cuts, hearing the screams and smelling the smoke of the bombs. I try to understand their pain when they tell me, but I cannot.

My mom sighed and adjusted her eyepatch. "My, the sky is ever so blue. Unusually blue. No clouds. Calm before the storm."

Not another word was said during dinner.

X-X-X

After dinner, Nick and I took the little rowboat out. Waves lapped against Little Suzie, as we called the boat.

I could barely see his face in the dark and the only indication that he was there would be the sound of his breathing and the creak of the oars rowing backwards.

He stopped by our favourite marsh and sighed.

We were quiet for a while, trying to enjoy each other's company, but it was too difficult to focus on another else other than the Games.

"I never want to use a weapon," Nick finally said.

"Me either." I looked down at my feet. This could possibly be the last time that I see him, if either of us were reaped tomorrow.

"I-I don't want you to go."

"Nick, none of us do," I replied.

"Mags…what if I told you…that …you were…the most important person to me?" He came so close to me that even though it was nighttime, I could see how green his eyes were.

I shifted back a little. "I'm not sure." My face was heating up again. I wanted to leave because I couldn't face the awkwardness. But, I wanted to hear what he would say.

I gulped.

"Damn it, we've all been suffering for the last six years with the knowledge that we could be killed each year. I don't want to remember that I could die tomorrow," he whispered.

I didn't answer him.

"Mags, I don't know if you remember…or even care…when we were 10, we promised that we'd marry each other…I wanted to ask for your hand after our last Reaping at 18. B-but, I don't want to wait. If I'm reaped, I don't want to tell you when I'm dying that you were special to me. I wanted to bring you out here on Suzie to tell you that." Nick took in a big breath. "The Capitol's taken almost everything from us. I…just don't want them to take away our time together too."

He got down on one knee.

"Nick, the boat's going to tip over if you move like that!" I exclaimed.

"I don't care if we go under. Mags…Magdelene, will you marry me?" Nick asked. He had made a ring of our local grass, which was tough enough to keep the fish from escaping and tough enough to keep up our houses. The ring had a small seashell bound to it.

This is what I've always wanted.

"Yes…I-I want to marry you," I choked on my own breath.

He gently slipped the ring on my fourth finger. "Sorry…you know, uh, if it's not a diamond ring. We don't have diamonds in District 4."

We laughed.

"No. But…why do you want to marry me?" I asked.

"Because you know…I always feel like I want to see you, but when I do see you, then I don't have anything important to say, and uh…um, every time I think about you and uh, I think…I love you—

I jumped a bit just as he was standing up, about to sit back down in the boat. Little Suzie flipped over. We fell into the sea, startling swans and ducks drifting in the area.

The water was warm and it seeped into our clothes and our hair. Fortunately, the water was shallow enough for us to stand up in, about up to our waists.

Before he could finish his sentence, I touched his cheek and kissed him on the mouth. It's quick, naïve, and lacks any sort of sexiness or whatever.

I let go of him and he rested his head on mine, our noses touching. He smells like sweat and sea salt.

I'm worried that he's going to take back the proposal any moment, due to my terrible kissing. I know I'm thinking illogically, but I'm honestly scared.

The strangeness and shock of this situation makes me want to run away, since Nick's proposal has already made me so happy. The whole situation is almost absurd because I was always dreaming about how he would propose to me, but it never occurred to me that it'd actually happen.

He laughed. "You…that surprised that I loved you?"

I looked away at the water awkwardly. "What about the boat?" I asked.

He smiled. "Close your eyes."

"We have to flip her back up—"

Nick pulled me to his chest. He was warm. "Close your eyes," he said again.

"But the boat—

He softly kissed me, while I touched his arm awkwardly. I eventually settled for putting my hands around his torso.

We flipped the boat upwards and started to drag it towards the shore.

I just want to take Nick and hide in this marsh, and not go to the Reaping tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Capitol takes attendance.

"I can lose anything, but I will never lose you…I know that's cheesy," Nick said, as I pulled away.

"Shut up…" I said quietly.

Nick laughed. "Always the shy one…"

We watched the stars, remembered the grasses of the marsh and of course, the gentle sea as he sang a sweet lullaby…I felt safe from tomorrow's impending danger. No one will take this moment away from us, not even the Capitol.

X-X-X

"Welcome everyone to District 4's reaping for the 12th annual Hunger Games!" the escort, Bassania, said into the microphone.

The escort's cheery tone doesn't relax us. It scares us more.

The Reaping has begun.

X-X-X

AN: I'm trying out this fiction, which I've thought about doing for a long time. Mags is awesome. I'm not 100% sure what she would have been like during her Games, but this is how I imagined her.

** Please review** and let me know where I can improve!


	2. Chapter 2

**Beneath the Water: Chapter 2**

Disclaimer: I don't own Suzanne Collins' _The Hunger Games Trilogy._

X-X-X

It was morning and my mom gently shook me to get ready for the Reaping. She combed my hair into a French braid, weaving small, white flowers into it. I slipped into a linen dress that grazed my knees and put on the ring that Nick gave me. I was so nervous last night and ended up so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed.

After breakfast, we went to the town square where camera men were waiting for the Reaping to begin. Bright banners and posters announced the 12th Annual Hunger Games. People were signing in and parents, friends, and grandparents were holding the hands of their little ones, begging that we didn't have to go. I hugged my mom and dad before I went to stand in the roped-off areas.

I walked a short distance along the roped-off lines and stopped at the 17 year old line. The sky was grey. The birds in the trees were madly chirping about something, before flying away rapidly. The flock of birds casted a huge shadow on the town square as they flew overhead.

Peacekeepers in their clean, white uniforms patrolled the lines, making sure that we didn't try to escape.

The girl in front of me nodded curtly. We usually saw each other in class, or in the neighborhood.

I scanned the crowd for Nick and soon found him somewhere in the crowd. He appeared to be looking around too. His eyes stopped on me. His expression was a mix of fear, frustration and fatigue. I pursed my lips and nodded at him in greeting.

Soon enough, the Reaping started and all sources of noise and crying abruptly stopped. Any talking during the "ceremony" could earn a person a bullet in the head. Some sunshine peaked out from the clouds after the birds left.

I tuned out the history parts about the Rebellion and how the 'glorious' Capitol won. District 13 was destroyed. Then, blah blah blah, the Capitol punished the ungrateful children each year from the Districts 1 to 12 by sending one boy, one girl each year between the ages of 12 to 18 for a fight to the death on TV.

The hair of the escort, Bassania, was more interesting to look at than the history so I tried to discern what colour it actually was. Green. But not the light green of the grass that we use to weave baskets. Certaintly not the deep green colour of the palm trees.

Lightning cracked in the distance. Ten seconds later the thunder could be heard. A low growl from the thunder.

I think…the escort's hair looks like seaweed. The kind that tangles fishing nets and sometimes the kind that we eat.

"For the 12th Annual Hunger Games, our male tribute is…"

I instantly perked up from my contemplation.

The escort put her pale hand in the Reaping Ball, swirling the slips around with her fingers. Thunder growled in the distance.

"Gabriel Momose!"

I saw Nick gasp in horror.

"Now for our female tribute…"

The wind picked up and it started to rain. The palm trees twisted around in sick way, like a tribal dance before a sacrifice.

"Lo—AHHHH MY HAIR!" The winds blew off the escort's ridiculous green hair and she let go of the slip in her hand. Bassania turned around and ended up slipping on the wet stage. She was more focused on keeping her wig on and as she fell over, she accidentally knocked over the girls' reaping ball. Thousands of paper slips, representing our lives, fell out onto the stage. The escort looked very embarrassed and some of the Peacekeepers rushed on stage, holding umbrellas over her and the paper slips.

I guess the Peacekeepers were trying to make sure the Reaping went on, so that they and District 4 wouldn't receive a harsh punishment for not submitting two tributes. That would seem like a rebellious action.

The entire crowd looked on in fear. The mayor stood up, but he seemed to be unable to decide what to do. Eventually, after a bit of shifting around, he went to the microphone.

"After the Reaping, please go back to your huts. The working day is done early due to this storm. Pack up the nets and take all the boats and the ships into the large cave for cover," Mayor Gulliver said.

I was upset about Gabriel being chosen but I was just about to sigh out of relief that the boy wasn't Nick and the girl wasn't me. I wonder if that's selfish of me to think that way?

Bassania looked embarrassed from her fall and her blown away wig, but otherwise she stood up and picked a slip off the ground. "Well, that was unfortunate! I bet you girls were all upset that you didn't get to experience fame!"

The terror was not over yet.

Bassania grinned widely. "I'm going to hold onto this slip really tightly! Magdelene Shima!"

I gulped and for a moment, I didn't think. I took a slight breath as heads turned and eyes looked at me. District 4 knew me as the girl who fell asleep when she fished.

"That's the girl!" Bassania clapped her hands. "Come up here!"

My legs followed her command and strangely enough I didn't trip, even though my mind was blank.

Bassania giggled. "That's lovely. Our tributes—

"WAIT! NO! I VOLUNTEER!"

I looked up from my feet and Nick ran forward from the crowd.

No…

"Surely, you can't volunteer for a girl! You're a handsome lad, but I won't allow that!" Bassania giggled.

The crowd was silent.

Nick squinted in the rain. He licked his lips and said more quietly, "No, I want to volunteer for the boy."

Stop it, stop it…

I heard a hitch in Gabe's breathing.

"No, I don't think I can do that. You could only volunteer when the boy's name was called. If you stayed silent, you have assented to his reaping as a tribute," Bassania said.

She turned to Gabe. "I would bet you two are brothers! Would you like to him to replace you?"

Gabe blankly stared into crowd. "No."

Bassania stretched out her hands to the crowd. "Well, no other volunteers?"

"Then it's decided by the rules and by the male tribute himself, that this year's District 4 tributes are Gabriel Momose and Magdelene Shiima!" Bassania exclaimed.

Nick's shoulders slumped. What…what was he trying to do?

I tried to meet Gabe's eyes, but they were averted as we shook hands. My heart twisted in fear and my muscles tensed up. I felt a lump in my throat. I was wrong, so wrong before. The Capitol could take everything and anything from us.

There's no escape from now on.

X-X-X

AN: Thank you for your reviews, Bree, Fiona Siona, Rose and JenneeGrace! I really appreciate it.

Oh, and yes, I know that's a weird way for Mags' name to be chosen.

To all of you who have read this story and who are just new to it, **please keep the reviews coming** and let me know what did you like, hate, or thought could be improved!

Have a nice day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Beneath the Water, the 12****th**** Annual Hunger Games: A Mags Story**

Disclaimer: I don't own Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games Trilogy.

**Beneath the Water: Chapter 3**

X-X-X

The Peacekeepers brought me into the recently rebuilt Justice Building, which had been mostly destroyed during the Rebellion. They led me into a room that was used to let tributes say goodbye to family and friends. There was a small sofa made of plushy material in the centre of the room along with some flowers in an expensive-looking vase on a small wooden table.

The first people who came in were my parents. Mom was crying already.

Dad limped in and it suddenly occurred to me that he was quite old. He pushed my shoulders down and sat me down onto the sofa. He shook as he knelt in front of me. I told him not to kneel, but he refused to listen, even if kneeling strained his remaining leg. He had probably not kneeled for a decade and it made him groan in pain. Dad looked up at me before bowing his head.

"I'm…I'm so sorry. I know—I know that apologizing now will have no use, but I'm so sorry I didn't send you to Career training…we wanted to protect you….we never wanted to you to be chosen…"

Mom came over an enveloped me in a hug and tears started to run down my face. "Magdelene, you are our only child, and we love you so much…your father and I are to blame...for not sending you to training…we were so foolish—we…felt that if we didn't send you to Career training, you would never have pick up a weapon in your life, never have to kill…that you would never see the things we saw in our dreams at night…and that there would be no chance of you being chosen…if we pretended the Games didn't exist…"

Dad sniffled and wiped his tears on his sleeve. It was the first time I saw him cry. He wiped off my face too with his hand.

I wasn't sure what to say to them…I was a little mad that they didn't give me any sort of preparation and thought so foolishly. Then, I remembered seeing my parents crying, screaming, and thrashing around in their sleep and I know what they wanted to protect me from—being mentally tortured for the rest of my life. I remember how sometimes Mom just stayed in bed all day, cause she wasn't able to shake loose the yelling and explosions she heard in her head and that nothing could distract her from thinking about the war. I wasn't angry anymore.

"Mags, I'm giving you a crash course on what your mother and I learned during the war. First, remember, that survival skills, not fighting skills will keep you alive. Even if you are to fight, you need to have enough energy, nutrition and hydration. Tap into nature, but be wary of what you can and can't eat," Dad stroked my head gently.

Mom nodded. "Make sure to be always ready to run. Have your things pre-packed. Don't stay to fight."

Dad sighed. "The most important thing to remember is that we are all living things and nothing is the most powerful. People and fish mistakenly think that they are better than everyone else and come out when the predator's still there. Do not be like that, but rather, take advantage of other people's arrogance. Calm before the storm."

Mom also kneeled on the carpet. "Do not underestimate anything. Resources might appear merely to be just part of the environment—but medicinal plants and poisons alike can appear to be like any other tree or shrub. Anything can be used as a weapon and even your own knowledge of your craft and work can help you. Remember what you know…and stay beneath the water."

Mom and Dad put their arms around each other and hugged me for a final time.

"We're sorry that we could not give you the tools to help you," they said. "We love you so much."

"Mom…Dad…" I said, but my voice came out as a whisper. "I love you…"

"You will be okay," my parents said softly, as they shut the door.

As soon as the door was shut, my friends from school, Torie and Charmaine came inside.

Torie shook her head and her eyebrows were drawn together. Charmaine clasped her hands and stayed silent for a few moments before breaking down into tears.

I wanted to tell them that I wasn't dead yet, but I didn't have the heart to say that kind of thing.

"We're so sorry…Mags, you will always be our best friend," Charmaine sobbed.

I hugged her. "I love you guys so much…"

I knew Charmaine was being nice, but somehow her words sounded like a pre-funeral. 'You will always be our best friend'—it was like I was never going to come back from a far, far away place—wait, that is going to happen to me…

Torie suddenly took a deep breath and turned away from me. "Mags, I don't care if you don't have training or whatever, but you're going to win."

"Torie!" Charmaine exclaimed.

Torie took me by the shoulders and I could see the fear and concern in her eyes. She jabbed her finger at my chest. "If you don't try your best to get out of that arena, you're not my friend! Until the day I die, I will hate you if you get killed in there. Win…and please, come back to us, your friends."

Torie dragged Charmaine out before shoving someone standing outside the room inside.

Nick.

Oh, Torie…you knew Nick was standing outside…did you? The Capitol only allowed us a few minutes to say good bye, so I think Torie was hurrying to make sure I had enough time with Nick. Not that we ever had enough time for anything good to last.

I smiled sadly. Nick must have been visiting Gabe. His eyes were red.

"You were crying," I said, touching his arm.

He nodded and sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. After an awkward moment, he hugged me tightly. "I could've saved you and I couldn't! So ashamed of myself…I couldn't help…I could've gone into the arena with you and made sure you won…"

"Nick, your brother is competing in there too," I said quietly, stroking his back.

"I know…if…if I could've just volunteered in time, Gabe wouldn't have to participate and I'd be able to die for you if you were in danger…" Nick whispered.

I rocked him sideways and back, feeling his arms wrapped around my waist.

"Nick. Do you know how happy I am? I'm so glad that you thought of doing all this for me and Gabe, but please…don't be sad," I choked up.

I'm not sure what to feel about Nick's plan, but I want him to be happy…I can't show him how scared I feel right now. His plan was foolish and childish…but I know he wanted to help Gabe and me.

"Mags…oh…Mags…" Nick stroked my head.

There would be so many things that I couldn't tell him, like how I had liked him after that summer when we were 13 and I realized he was growing into a man…or how I couldn't even look at him when the school announced that there was going to be a summer dance when we were 15. I never actually went to the dance because I was too nervous and scared of embarrassing myself in front of him. All the jokes, the weird things I did in front of him, I'd never be able to tell him.

"Mags…please—" Nick paused in the middle of his sentence.

He knew that if he told me to come home, he would be asking Gabe, his own little brother to die. Nick sighed and breathed in deeply.

"Mags, fight. Fight the hardest you can, with every ounce of strength and force you have," he said finally.

I nodded in his arms. "Mmm."

"Fight. I love you, care for you. I'm so worried about you right now. Please…I beg you, fight for me. Everything will okay," Nick said. He was shaking.

I know that some people would be offended that their fiancé would hesitate between choosing between his fiancée and his little brother—but I understand. Nick and I took care of Gabe when he was young, walking with him to and from school, and playing with him when Mr. and Mrs. Momose were busy. We both loved Gabe so much, and it's easier said than done to let go of family.

"The ring…that I gave you…maybe it could be your token?" Nick asked.

"Yes…that is what I want to bring to the arena…thank you so much," I whispered.

"You don't need to thank me… because I love you, you know?" he said, as he wiped off the tears off my face with his thumbs.

He pressed his lips to mine and stroked my hair, before pulling away. He touched my cheek, as if he wanted to remember what my face felt like before giving me a small, tender kiss. Nick hugged me gently before the Peacekeepers came into the room, telling him to leave.

He left before I could say quietly back… "I love you."

X-X-X

People were rabidly trying to take Gabe's and my picture. Gabe appeared uninterested while I pressed my lips together into a thin, straight line.

We finally got into the train after a couple of photographs. Gabe entered first and I followed.

Gabe suddenly turned around. "You're not a Career."

"I know."

Gabe looked at me strangely before he walked into a corridor and slammed the door of his room behind him. I want to talk to him, but my gut tells me that it's not a good idea now.

I suddenly realized the presence of Bassania beside me, who somehow got there without me knowing.

"Jeepers, he's got quite the temper!" Bassania slapped me playfully on the shoulder.

I rolled my eyes and also slammed the door of my room behind me. The walls of my room were a rich red and the bed was small, but comfortable. A desk was next to the bed. The beach outside the window was beautiful, and I looked at District 4…home.

The train started to move and the ground shook. I've never been on a train before. I don't think any of the people in the Districts have ever been on the train…unless they were tributes. Falling onto the bed and sighing, I looked up at the ceiling. I want to live. But that means Gabe will die. I want to see Mom and Dad…my friends…Nick…

But of course it's not all about me… every tribute in the games probably wants to go back home too...and they miss their parents and friends and some of them might have boyfriends or girlfriends or fiancés too. We're all the same.

Even if Mom and Dad gave me all those tips, I'd die. I'm not a Career, and I don't have any extraordinary fighting skills, so I definitely won't win. I don't want to die…

But if I don't die…Gabe will.

X-X-X

AN: Thank you for the review, Fiona Siona! That was really a sad reaping. What a clumsy escort. Heh.

Sorry for the slow update, and to all those who have been reading, please, drop me a review! It means a lot.

A question for you all: What did you think of the Hunger Games Movie? I finally watched it yesterday (haha, I'm pretty slow…)

Thank you for reading and have a greeeeeeat day!


	4. Chapter 4

**Beneath the Water, the 12****th**** Annual Hunger Games: A Mags Story**

Disclaimer: I don't own Suzanne Collins' _The Hunger Games_ Trilogy.

**Beneath the Water: Chapter 4**

The train was travelling at high speed, but I could barely feel the floor shaking. Bassania had left us alone for about the last hour, so it was relatively quiet. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

I hope…if I die, no…I will die. I want Gabe to be the last person I see and talk to. He's my last remembrance of home, but seeing and talking to him before my death would involve surviving up to who knows whenever. The Bloodbath, the initial fight for supplies, would be no place for emotional last moments.

I think of Nick. He'd want to see his brother again.

It'd be more worthwhile to play the Games this way—if I died trying to save Gabe from something and ensured his victory so that he could go back to District 4. The Momoses would have their youngest son back.

I think of all the ways that I could die. Being stabbed in the stomach …getting my head chopped off…walking into a trap…There's no way to go through these Games without pain, regardless whether you lose or not. I don't want to die…

Tears welled up in my eyes and I kicked the chair in my room. Never want to kill…never…if I'd choose someone to kill it'd be the President, the one that ruled Panem and made the Districts so poor…because of him…we had the Rebellion…and because we lost the Rebellion…we had the Hunger Games…which…GAH!

I sat on the carpet and pulled my knees towards my chest. If Gabe wins, I die. If I win, Gabe dies…I knew I should do the right thing and try to save Gabe, but I…don't want to die…never…

"Dinnertime!" Bassania's girly voice echoed outside in the hallway.

I gasped and scrambled up from the floor defensively, feeling guilty thinking about making Gabe die for me…If I went home…Nick would know that I lived because Gabe died…I would have no idea about how to face him…he'd hate me for sure…Mr. and Mrs. Momose would hate me…even I would hate myself.

It'd basically be child murder to kill Gabe. Heh, but the Capitol's been doing child murder for the last 11 years…no, no…no, Mags!

Mags, do you want to be evil as the Capitol?

Gabe came out of his room at the same time that I did. Our eyes met, but he angrily (?) looked away and we walked down the hall together in silence.

"Children, here's dinner! Bet you never had something as lovely as this to eat!" Bassania laughed.

I was about to scowl at her until I saw the mouth-watering dishes. Slowly smoked salmon with lemon slices, bread that was crunchy on the outside but warm and soft on the inside…noodles with rich tomato sauce and herbs sprinkled on top…

Even Gabe stopped looking angry for a little bit. As District 4, we were almost as rich as District 1 and 2, but even we never had something as extravagant as this.

I quickly tried some of the salmon and squeezed some lemon on it. Bassania passed something that was yellow and bubbly in a tall glass towards me.

"What is it?" I asked.

She giggled. "It's called sparkling apple juice."

I sipped cautiously from the glass and then drank some more. It indeed did taste like apple juice, but somehow much tastier.

Lamb stew, bread, noodles…I was piling my dish with these godly foods until I realized…they were fattening us before the kill. I choked on some of the bread.

"It's delicious, isn't it?" Bassania said.

I ignored her. If I want to survive a few days after the Bloodbath, I need to eat as much as possible, in case I don't have any food during the Games. Well…and you know…I guess enjoy the food while it's there.

Silence at the table. Gabe was back to looking surly. Bassania fidgeted nervously.

"So…do you two know each other?" Bassania asked.

I nodded.

"Are you friends? You two can work together and join the District 1 and 2 tributes!" Bassania said, pushing some of the salad towards us.

Gabe looked up from his plate. "Doesn't really matter. She's going to die anyway."

I dropped my fork. Gabe…Nick's younger brother that I grew up with… Gabe wants me to die?

Bassania smiled nervously. "You must be confident in your abilities."

Gabe raised his eyebrows. "Not even for that reason. She's not a Career."

I suddenly decided that my food was more interesting, piling a bit from each plate, especially the meat dishes, onto my plate.

Gabe…you want to me to die so much? I huffed angrily as I stabbed a piece of meat with my fork and tore it off viciously. I chewed slowly and let my mind wander from the silence at the dinner table.

Everything was so wrong…so wrong.

X-X-X

I never fell asleep that night.

My body had just finally started to relax when Bassania knocked on my door and told me to get up. I ignored her until she started yelling at me. Rolling out of bed and yawning, I brushed my teeth and combed my hair before putting on a mildly embellished green dress.

So…tired.

My white dress from the Reaping was laid out neatly on my bed. I didn't want to ruin the Reaping outfit—I was hoping to ask Bassania to send the dress back to District 4 to my parents. I'm not about to let my fanciest dress be left with a bunch of Capitol idiots after my death.

Gabe changed into a blue shirt with feathers sticking out from the collar. I think we were both struggling to find clothes that weren't so exaggeratedly extravagant.

Tea, chocolate and a bitter thing called coffee was set out on the table with fruit, yogurt, cheese, hot rolls and the familiar green and salty District 4 bread, shaped like a fish.

After breakfast, Bassania turned on the TV so that we could watch all the Reapings.

The District 1 tributes were blond, tall and beautiful…as they always were. Upon closer inspection, the boy was reaped but the girl was a volunteer. The girl gave a winning smile to the camera, but the boy's face was emotionless.

The boy and girl from 2 puffed out their chests to show off their superior strength. The boy cracked his knuckles as the escort announced their names and the girl smirked cunningly.

The boy from 3 was not very memorable, but the girl was interesting. She looked frail, with large glasses covering her small face. However, there was a bright energy in her eyes—she was intelligent, with a silent confidence.

Then, it was us. I always thought that Gabe was the cheerful and perpetually pouting little boy who lived next door, always asking for piggyback rides from his brothers. The camera showed someone who I was completely unfamiliar with—Gabriel, the 14 year- old boy that wasn't a child anymore. Who was he? We still exchanged a couple of jokes a few days before the Reaping.

Eventually, the Reaping went to the part of Nick volunteering. The commentators laughed. "Who does he think he is, volunteering only after the girl has been reaped? I wonder he thinks he's a girl!?"

My heart twisted painfully but I refused to show any emotion in front of Bassania and Gabe. Gabe's fists clenched and he squared his jaw in anger, hearing the commentators poke fun at Nick.

District 5 passed without much comment.

District 6's tributes were a 12 year-old boy and a 15 year-old girl, neither of which were very physically imposing. The girl from District 7 was crying. The girl from 8 fidgeted with her curly brown hair.

The other tributes didn't stick out to me other than the tall boy from 10.

X-X-X

As soon as we got off the train, we were ushered off into what is called the Remake Center. A lady named Gustoria ripped off the hair on my arms and probably half of my nerves with a sticky piece of cloth.

"Mmph-ah!" I yelled, as another Capitolean yanks off some hair on my legs.

Why are they torturing us before we get thrown into the arena?!

"Seriously! Why are tributes so hairy? We have to do this EVERY year!" the second Capitolean, Ravenna, exclaimed.

A man combed my hair.

"So many tangles!" he laughed as he tugged on a certain glob of hair stuck together.

I examine my prep team. Gustoria has pink hair, piled on top of her head like whipped cream. Ravenna has yellow hair and an abnormally small waist. The man had long green eyebrows, curling at the ends.

After trimming my nails, my prep team stepped away from me as they examined their work. "Wow, you…actually look like a woman!"

I shifted uncomfortably from the prep team's gaze.

Ravenna clapped her hands and giggled.

The man laughed. "I think she'll be absolutely gorgeous!"

It's like they were talking about me like I wasn't even there.

Gustoria put her hands on her hips. "Okay, enough fooling around, Ravenna and Scandicci! We should call Angelo."

They hurried out and after a few minutes, my stylist came in. Angelo was a tall, blond man with a green tattoo on his cheek and tattoos that seemed to be engraved in gold on his arms. He pushed up his black framed glasses, which were sliding down.

I was naked, except for some underclothes, and defensively covered myself up.

"I know you don't want me to see your body, but I'm roughly calculating what kind of costume will fit you."

He had a deep, rumbling voice with the strange accent of the Capitol. My heart was beating fast—even

though he said he was just thinking of what costume to make me, I still felt weird and nervous having a stranger look at my body.

His eyebrows furrowed together as he circled around me.

Angelo handed me a bathrobe after he finished examining me and brought me to another room for lunch. He pushed a button and a roasted chicken, potato ringlets and many other dishes I didn't know popped up from the table.

"Eat. It's going to be a long day before you get to rest," he said.

I nodded and quickly took some chicken.

"I've got a rough idea of what I want to make for your costume, but what do you think, District 4?" Angelo asked.

"Probably something sea related, like seashells," I shrugged.

X-X-X

For the next few hours, Angelo shut himself into a different room. I finished my lunch and then the prep team started to deal with my hair after he had talked to them.

I wasn't allowed to see what I looked like yet. The prep team forced me to close my eyes as they put on my costume.

"Open your eyes!" Scandicci trilled.

The costume was a blue-green silky dress with one thick strap on my left shoulder. It went to the floor with seashells sewn all over it. The train was flowing, sparkling with scales at the end.

I wore no jewelry, since Angelo decided to keep it simple. My body had been sprinkled with gold glitter and I appeared to have just come from the sun.

"It's not very flashy, but at least it's not as tacky as making you wear a fish costume," Angelo mumbled.

My black hair has been twisted to the side with seashell pins keeping my hair in place. Angelo's skills in making this beautiful chariot outfit in such a short amount of time made me respect him. I found him to be not as intimidating as I thought at first—he was just my stylist, and meant no harm.

"T-thank you," I stuttered, still admiring his work in the mirror.

X-X-X

Angelo helped me get onto the chariot, before applying some last minute touch-ups. Soon enough, Gabe joined me in the chariot. Scales seemed to be the common theme this year, and he was dressed as a warrior with bright jewel scales sewn into his armor and his gloves. His gloves were lined with fins.

The opening music soon began and the lurch from the horses pulling the chariot forward made me hold onto the bar of the chariot.

I looked nervously at Angelo. What am I supposed to do? The prep team suggested that I wave to the crowd to look friendly. Angelo had no comment, except that I should just do whatever I felt comfortable doing.

The District 1 chariot started to move out. Cheers greeted them and District 2 soon followed. District 3 went out and soon, Gabe and I were pulled out into the city.

Millions of faces looked upon us and I had no idea what to do. Flashing lights from large lights and cameras made me see strange, fluorescent, fuzzy images of everything around the chariot. The Capitol was clapping and cheering for us. I felt disoriented, but decided to wave to the crowd as the prep team suggested. I'm proud of Angelo's work.

What would Nick and Mom and Dad think of my costume?

Gabe made no move to wave to them but stood there majestically. I smiled at the crowd and it threw flowers and confetti at us. This was the first time the Capitol would see us in person, and for some reason, my nervousness turned into excitement.

The other districts followed after us and eventually, the chariots stopped before the President's mansion. It's strange how the horses know when to stop. The crowd hushed and then, we heard it. The sound of feet walking towards the podium on the balcony.

I anxiously pursed my lips. This was the man that was in charge of commanding the Capitol troops to kill my family and friends that I never had the chance of meeting. The man who took away my father's leg and my mother's eye.

The one who started the Hunger Games.

President Corlforius.

His hair was tinted a light yellow and he spoke with a commanding and cold voice. "Welcome, tributes. This year has been the twelfth since the first Hunger Games. We have all enjoyed bounty and peace for so long! May many more happy years come…."

My mouth twitched a bit in disgust, but I tried to control my face's expression to convey no emotion—if I showed disapproval of the President's speech, I would be in so much trouble.

After the President's speech, the chariots circled a final time around the parade route before leaving us at the Training Center.

X-X-X

"That was absolutely FAB-UL-OUS, Angelo!" Bassania exclaimed, as she came to escort Gabe and me.

Angelo nodded and continued to help me out of my dress wordlessly.

Gabe and I waved goodbye to our stylists before Bassania beckoned us to follow her into the Training Centre, where we would be staying until the Games start. She pressed a button and metallic doors opened to a small chamber.

"This is an elevator. It can bring you in between floors. Since you're from District 4, you will be going to floor number 4," Bassania chattered cheerfully.

Gabe and I walked in cautiously. The elevator floor was transparent and we were brought up quickly. Floor number 4 appeared with a "ding" from the elevator and a swish of doors.

"This is your apartment. The Avoxes are here to bring you anything you need. Enjoy!" Bassania said sing-song-edly, before leaving us to our leisure.

The apartment was stylish and spacious but Gabe disappeared before I could say anything to him. I still don't understand what's going on with Gabe. He certainly grew up, but he never ignored me before, like these few days.

I went to a room, blinking tiredly. I sunk onto my bed without really paying much attention to where I kicked off my shoes and fell asleep immediately from exhaustion.

It was a few hours later that I woke up that night, to the sound of vomiting, crying and the shattering of glass outside.

X-X-X

AN: Sorry, it's been a while since my last update—lots of midterms, labs and papers I've had to do in these few weeks.

How have you guys been? I've gotten sick this week from sitting in between two of my friends who were coughing and sneezing all class long. Hah. Hope you've all been healthy!

So tell me, I'm really trying to develop the characters well and create suspense—let me know how I'm doing so that I can improve for my next chapter.

Thank you for all the reviews, Fiona Siona, Nyx's Reincarnation (Tarah), laptop246 and Lady of Ravenclaw. Your reviews have pretty much made my day whenever I saw them.

FionaSiona- Haha, you won't believe it—I get pretty depressed when I write this story—always tempted to put something funny in there. I used to write lots of comedy. I was doing some online personality quizzes using answers that I think Mags would give to learn more about her and it so happened her One Direction match was Liam Payne. Haha! Thank you so much for your support!

Nyx's Reincarnation-Thank you so much for your review and feedback! Let me know if there's anything I can do to improve.

laptop246-Thank you for letting me join the community and your feedback—I've tried to show how indecisive Mags would be—which she certainly is, especially with Gabe being her District partner.

Lady of Ravenclaw-Haha, well, sometimes being mean ends up being motivation it makes you want to you want to prove that person that insulted you wrong. Hm, we'll see how the whole thing unfolds—I'm not sure of all the details yet either! Haha. I liked the movie as well, and agree, yeah, it was rushed at the end. I also didn't like how it was so dark all the time, so you couldn't tell who was talking sometimes.

Thank you for reading and hope to hear from you guys soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Beneath the Water, the 12****th**** Annual Hunger Games: A Mags Story**

Disclaimer: I don't own Suzanne Collins' _The Hunger Games_ Trilogy.

**Beneath the Water: Chapter 5**

CRASH! CLINK! "Why…?"

A large thud was heard by about where the door of the apartment was.

I stirred in my bed, rubbing my eyes. The clock said it was…3 in the morning. What was all this noise going on outside? I slowly pushed myself off the comfortable bed and put my hand along the wall to steady myself. Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering and sobbing and the pitter-pat of feet followed.

I jerked awake and ran out of my room. Gabe came into the living room at the same time as I did.

Three Avoxes were huddled around something…cleaning up a mess in the middle of the floor.

"What happened?" I said to no one in particular.

"No idea," Gabe mumbled sleepily.

Glass shards were swept up into a container and something was being cleaned off the floor. Vomit. The putrid smell of vomit and strangely, alcohol invaded my nostrils.

Another Avox came out a room at the other end of the apartment and shut the door, joining the other Avoxes, who were now mopping the floor with water and vinegar.

I tapped one of the Avoxes on the shoulder. "What happened?"

She shook her head.

"What…does that mean?" Gabe asked.

She shook her head again. I looked over the entire apartment—it was mostly untouched, except for the mess on this part of the floor.

There was no one else here except Gabe, me and the Avoxes, since Bassania left a little bit before I went to sleep. Do people break into tribute apartments?

Gabe was getting frustrated from being woken in the middle of the night and grumbling. He grabbed one of the Avoxes by the shoulders. "Why aren't you speaking to us? Are we too low to speak with? It's because we came from the Districts, isn't it?"

"Gabe, you can't say that to h—

The Avox opened her mouth wide…to reveal nothing. Hollow.

"You—

"I'm sorry," I said and quickly ran back to my room, trying to erase the image from my mind. So…that's why they can't talk…no tongue. They…have their tongues cut out!

No voice against their masters, the Capitol. Like us.

I wish the Capitol would just leave us alone. We were all fine the way we were before.

X-X-X

"You're all here. 10:00 AM. The next three days will be preparation for what you will face in the next two weeks…if you're still alive by then," said the Head Trainer, Arterlia.

I nervously licked my lips.

"There are many stations with trainers that may help you develop skills that may be useful in the arena,"Arterlia lectured, as she walked back and forth on the platform she was standing on. She was wearing athletic clothing.

Arterlia continued after a brief pause. "There are no rules as to how many stations you need to visit or which ones, but absolutely no fighting is allowed before the Games start. If you want to practice fighting, there are trainers available for sparring and wrestling."

The District 1 girl snickered. Arterlia glared at her and the girl stopped laughing.

"Now before you all head to the different stations, please take my word. As the head trainer, I am supposed to be of neutral standing. However, some advice for all of you. This is a fight to the death, but survival is just as important. Do not skip the survival stations," Arterlia said. "You may begin."

All the tributes from District 1 and 2 immediately rushed over to the weapons stations. Gabe also went to a weapons station, the knife throwing one, but he kept his distance from the Careers. He probably wanted them to see his skills, but did not want to act like one of them in case they did not accept him. It depends on the year, but the Careers only sometimes accept District 4 tributes because not all of its tributes are as skilled as they are—most of us were reaped, with training or no training. We were unlike the Careers who volunteered to be in the Games.

I decided to try the knot station, since I didn't want anyone to see me as a threat. From District 4, I was already an expert in knot tying, through years of fishing net making and basket weaving, but it wasn't a bad idea to start with comfortable stuff. Actually, nevermind, I'm making excuses for myself…I was scared of trying anything else. I really don't know what I'm doing and I have no plan of what I'm going to do in the Games. What am I going to do, what am I going to do?! The Games haven't even started, and I'm already panicking.

No...wait, they kinda started the moment I was Reaped.

The trainer appeared to be flattered that her station was approached right at the beginning of the training session and she guided me through simple knots, and even taught me how to make a big, tough rope from braiding together strings that were so thin that they were easy to pull apart on their own. I thanked the trainer and walked past several stations that were clearly not for me…sword fighting? Using an axe?

But…Mags, you're not going to get anywhere in the Games by tying pieces of rope together!

I sighed and stopped by the fire making station, which should prove very useful. Again, I already knew how to make a fire, but I didn't know how to make one that didn't smoke. I asked the trainer and he started to grab several differently sized pieces of wood.

"If you want a fire that won't smoke, you can't just randomly put the firewood in a pile. There's two ways to get a smokeless fire. Dakota fire pit or the upside down fire. I would suggest the Dakota fire pit because it is more effective, but it might not be possible to use if you can't dig in the ground. The other option is the upside down fire," he said.

I nodded silently and crossed my legs under me to get more comfortable as I listened to him.

"Alright, to make a Dakota fire pit, you have to dig two holes in the ground and make a tunnel joining them. One of the holes will be where the fire is, and the other is to let the air in. You don't need large pieces of wood for this. Just get a bunch of twigs and light them on fire. Air will come into contact with the fire so there's no smoke and the fire will burn from the top of the pile to the bottom," the trainer said, as he took a small shovel and dug into the soil pit at the station.

I grabbed some twigs and stuffed some in the hole in ground on the left and just like how he was demonstrating to the girl and boy from 5 earlier, he took two sticks and crossed them together like a cross, tying them together tightly with a small piece of string and put them right next to the firewood. With this tool, he sawed the horizontally- placed stick back and forth, gripping both sticks tightly. CRACK! The twigs in the fire hole went on fire!

The trainer poured some water over the fire and pointed to a dry spot in the soil pit. He took apart his fire-making apparatus and handed the two sticks and the piece of string to me for me to try on my own.

I dug in the soil with my hands, since I probably wouldn't have the luxury of using a shovel during the Games. After digging two shallow holes, I put the twigs in one hole and copied how the trainer did it, making two loops diagonally on one side of the crossing of the two sticks and two loops on the other side. I looked up at the trainer to see if I was doing anything wrong, but he just stood there, silently watching me.

When I went to light the pile of twigs on fire, the two sticks were stuck together and I couldn't saw the horizontal stick back and forth. I guess I shouldn't have tied them so tightly and on both sides of the cross?

I undid the sticks and loosely tied them together. I managed to light the twigs on fire, but the fire still smoked! I grimaced.

"You didn't dig the two pits deep enough," the trainer said, pouring water on the fire. "Again."

This time, I dug deeper and thankfully, it worked.

"Okay, now you know how use the Dakota fire pit technique. Now, the other way you can get a smokeless fire is to light the fire upside down. You have to put undamaged wood, with no cuts at the bottom, cut and split wood on top, twigs and thin sticks at the very top. Alright, this part I'm about to talk about is really important. You have to make sure there are no gaps in the first two layers. This is how you get no smoke. Then, you light the fire at the top of the pile, so the fire burns from the top to the bottom, just like the Dakota fire pit. I would still suggest using the Dakota fire pit though, because the upside down fire is not always effective," the trainer said.

Suddenly, the girl from 3 came over to watch. While I tried setting up the upside down fire, she talked to the trainer.

"How would you make a small fire? I don't want the fire to create too much light," the girl from 3 said.

"Well, don't use any big logs. Get as many twigs as possible and spread them out more horizontally instead of a tall, big pile."

"Oh, I see…" the girl from 3 said.

X-X-X

I sighed tiredly as I sat down on an empty bench and started to scoop some pasta with rich tomato sauce into my mouth. Gabe was walking towards one of the other empty tables, barely acknowledging my presence.

"Hey 4!" the boy from 2 yelled.

Both of us looked up at the boy from 2. The Careers motioned Gabe over and the croissant on my plate suddenly became very "interesting" to me. I peeked up from under my eyelids, watching them closely.

"We saw you throwing knives earlier. You're pretty good. How would you like to join us, 4?" the girl from 2 asked condescendingly.

From what I heard from the kids in our district, once the Careers ask you to join them, there's no escaping. Unless you want to be their new favourite target, you'd better join them.

"Yeah, I'll join," Gabe said calmly.

"Just to let you know though, we're not inviting the pretty girly from your district though. Seems useless to me," the boy from 2 chuckled, winking in my direction. I pretended not to notice.

Gabe nodded.

"So, don't try any funny business, like trying to help her, even though she's from your district. What's your name, 4?" the girl from 1 smiled cockily.

"Gabriel," Gabe said quietly.

"Well, I'm Posh, my district partner is Fab," the girl from 1 said, pointing to the blond boy who I didn't even notice was standing behind them. "Our girl from 2 is Isaline and our boy from 2 is Salem."

Salem patted Gabe on the back. "Welcome, 4!"

A voice behind my back startled me. I was listening so closely to them my entire body was pressed against the table.

"May I sit here?"

I looked up. It was the girl from 3. I nodded and she shuffled around with her plate a little and climbed over the bench I was sitting on.

"I'm Harriet," she said, pushing up her glasses on her tiny nose. In fact, her entire body was tiny, like a sack of skin and bones. She was pale with light brown hair and matching brown eyes.

"Magdelene. District 4," I said. I thought the conversation would end there as we sat in silence, but she cleared up her throat.

"You know, I was working on this really interesting radio. Too bad I couldn't finish it before the Reaping," she said quietly.

"Yeah, that's too bad…you work on radios?" I asked.

"Yes. Since District 3 is the technology district and there are so many kinds of technology, everyone just picks something to work on and develop technology that they like. I picked the radio. It seems like a really ancient technology, like it was here for a long, long time," Harriet said.

I nodded, as I started to eat the large chicken leg on my plate.

"So…I know District 4 is the fishing district, but is it like us in District 3? Do people just do the kind of fishing they want?" Harriet asked.

It was like she wasn't scared at all that she was reaped. She just kept talking like nothing much in her life was different. I looked at her strangely.

"Um, sort of. Some of us follow family tradition and just do what our parents do, but some of us fish on our own, like me. I'm not really interested in going on the large gasoline boats, which they use to sail out and use the large nets to haul lots of fish together. There are times we need to sort through those catches to get rid of the sick or poisonous fish, so I just prefer fishing on my own with an old-fashioned rod to get rid of the ones I don't like without all the hassle of sorting through dozens of fish," I explained.

"That's really interesting! Wow, you learn something everyday," she said cheerfully.

Is she acting so cheerfully because she thinks she can kill everyone with some radio thing? I don't know what she thinks, but she looks pretty crazy to me. Though the insane ones are always the smartest.

X-X-X

It seems as if most people had dispersed to the different stations after lunch that day. Most people just went to the stations that others had gone to. I had tried knife throwing and archery that afternoon. I wasn't good at either of them, but my knife throwing wasn't…that bad. The trainer just told me to stop gripping the knife like a spear, like I was used to using at home for stabbing fish in the shallow water.

Home. I miss it. District 4 was dreary and the same everyday, but I preferred life that way. Ordinary.

Unusual. I probably won't come across the unusual girl from 3 until lunch again. What was I doing now? I was panting after a round of rope and wall climbing. Hopefully, there will be trees in the arena to hide in. I've never climbed a tree before, but that…might just be a useful skill to have at the moment.

I wiped my brow and looked up at the rope/ wall climbing station. The boy from 7 was scaling the rope, and then the wall (which had various shaped stones stuck along it to hold onto) with ease. He probably has to climb up trees everyday in District 7. I guess the hiding in trees part won't be too hard for him during the Games.

I sighed for the fifty-third time today and headed over to the fitness obstacle course. The trainer walked up to me and explained the rules. We had to jump on the blocks set on the ground randomly, avoid pits and jump through metal rings.

I put one foot behind me and started to run, jumping from one block to another in a section of the obstacle course with lots of blocks. There was solid ground and I ran for a bit before leaping over a pit and jumping onto the block right in front of the pit.

Then, I jumped through a metal hoop and continued running until I saw a row of metal rings all next to each other. It was almost like a tunnel! I stopped and looked at it…how was I supposed to jump through that? I tried to jump anyway, and got stuck in the rings. This is so embarrassing. The tributes from 5, 6, and 8 were laughing at me and I quickly crawled through the tunnel before anyone else noticed.

I hate being the center of attention. Leaping over a pit, I finally finished the obstacle course, heading to the edible plants and bugs station.

X-X-X

Half way through the first day, I realized that even though the Capitol gave you three days to finish up with the stations, you'd probably never go to all of them. Even if you did, you'd just be awful at all the skills cause you didn't have enough time to practice them all. You know, unless you're a Career, so you've been training your entire life.

Careers.

They were laughing around their lunch table and Harriet joined me again.

Careers.

"You should've seen that boy from 8! He couldn't even pick up the sword!"

The group laughed. Gabe was laughing too.

Careers.

Since when did I start just associating him with the Careers? I guess cause they accepted him? But…I just couldn't think that way…he was Gabe. But our good times were probably nothing to him. I can't think of the group now laughing at the District 9 girl as "Gabe and the group of crazy scary people". No, they are Careers. Gabe is a Career.

_And he will probably kill me_, I almost whispered outloud, as I viciously ripped off a piece of the steak I was eating.

X-X-X

The third day passed quickly with me trying to improve on the couple of weapons I think will be present in the arena. Not every year has all of the weapons available in the training center, but I think knives most definitely will show up. There was one year that there was only bows and arrows in the arena as weapons and those without bows and arrows took a long time to finish each other off with sticks and rocks, with hours of painful and gruesome fighting…so I thought I would try archery. Also, almost always, axes are available during the Games, so I tried to learn how to spar with an axe with the help of the trainer.

I still wasn't sure about how I was going to get my hands on a weapon during the Games yet though…at the Cornucopia? There was no way I was going to survive the Bloodbath. No way.

Ugh…

I thanked the trainer at the axe fighting station and visited the fire making station again.

"Back again?" the fire trainer asked.

"Yeah, I want to make sure I got the techniques down," I replied.

The trainer nodded and went to help out another tribute as I practiced on my own.

X-X-X

"Huh," I breathe out as I start to sweat, in nervousness, waiting for my private session with the Gamemakers. During the lunch of the third day of training, tributes are supposed to show them what they can do. Then, they give us scores out of 12, with 12 being the highest and 0 the lowest. What if I got something horrible like a 1? I'd become the laughing stock.

The Capitol people rely on these scores to know more about a tribute's abilities and whether they're worth betting on or not. These sponsors' money is used to fund for gifts to a tribute; so for example, if the tribute is thirsty, his or her mentor or escort could use the sponsor money to send a bottle of water to them.

But on the other hand, it wasn't so bad to get a low score because non-Career tributes with high scores often get targeted by the Careers for hogging some of the sponsor money they could have.

"Magdelene Shiima?"

I was called into the training room, now with several Gamemakers seated at the back.

"Please demonstrate your abilities to us," one of them said.

I nodded and went to the fire-making station, making a Dakota fire pit, and then an upside-down fire. Some of them nodded approvingly and a few of them looked bored. Then, I went to the archery station and shot a few arrows at the human dummies. I was still unfamiliar with the weapon, but my arrows did hit vital places in the head and neck areas.

Then, I went to the knife throwing station and missed the target a few times barely before hitting it square in the middle. I heard one of the Gamemakers scoff and yawn in boredom. I bit my lip from snapping back and yelling at them.

I then finished off with knot station. One of the Gamemakers got up and started to leave as soon as I went to that station. I took a ball of string and cut stretches of string, tying them together at one end. Then, I started to weave, weave, weave until I made a small container.

"You are dismissed," the Gamemaker sitting in the middle said.

I bowed and breathed out slowly. I've done it now. I was too boring for them! Score of 1 out of 12 here I come…

X-X-X

Nick's POV

Quiet. I skipped school for the next few days after the Reaping. I'm sure the entire district knew I had a massive crush on Mags. The old ladies in the town market would always jokingly say: "why do you keep chasing after her? You're a dashing young man. Date my granddaughter! She is certainly good enough for you."

Why? Why did I like Mags? It was ever since that day when our parents had finished teaching us how to use a fishing rod and we went out on our tiny rowboat, Suzie, to try it out. I was so annoyed because I just couldn't reel the fish up on time. They would always escape. My older brother, Daniel, told me it was the easiest thing to do in the world! He'd laugh at me for sure if I didn't bring any fish back.

I grumbled outloud to myself and stamped my feet in frustration.

"Nick, the boat's going to tip over if you move like that!" Mags shrieked.

Now that I remember this day from six years ago, I smiled. She said the same thing the day before the Reaping, when I asked her to marry me.

"Why doesn't it work?!" I exclaimed, hammering my fist on my thigh and then our boat flipped over. I was a short-tempered little boy.

"All my fish! They all swam away!" Mags groaned. I was so jealous of that pile of fish she'd caught after only learning one day. She was a natural at fishing.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Mags. I'm just horrible at this!" I spat out some water from my mouth and grumbled. "I'm useless! What will District 4 think of a man who can't fish?"

Mags laughed. "A man? You're thirteen!"

I growled at her.

Mags' tone softened. "Nick, you'll be fine. You'll figure it out!" Water was dripping from her hair and lips were curled up in a smile. She squinted her eyes and furrowed her brows in the sunlight. I had to suppress a gasp as I just realized how beautiful she was. Why didn't I notice that before?

As a 13 year-old kid, this felt weird. Weird as hell. Mags and I promised we'd marry each other when we were 10, but that's when I thought married people were just friends (at least that's what I thought Mom and Dad were). And Mags and I were friends and then I found out that you had to "like" like the person you married! Girls are gross! There's no way I'd like Mags!

"You'll never understand!" I screamed, my voice cracking. Damn puberty.

Mags huffed. "Fine, then! Be that way! I was just trying to help!" She came out of the water and stalked home angrily. I swam back to the boat and floated on my back for a while before climbing back onto the boat. I ended staying up for the next day and night catching the same number of fish Mags had caught earlier.

'Like' my ass. I ended up loving this girl.

Everyone left me alone after the Reaping. My parents, Daniel, my friends and random people in the town gave me sympathetic looks because…I was going to lose my little brother and the girl of my dreams in less than two weeks…and I was never going to see them again.

X-X-X

AN: Thank you all for reading...if you've made it this far. I really do appreciate it.

I wonder who's still reading this?

I really would also appreciate it if you reviewed. (*wiggles eyebrows*) You know...all those people who do read this story but don't actually review :P Reviews really do keep me going and let me know that someone cares about what I'm writing.

Sorry for the super late update. I actually had this chapter written a long time in advance but it needed lots of research (the fire-making session) and I was debating the length of this chapter. I've noticed that my chapters just keep getting longer and longer, haha. The Nick bit was also a last-minute decision, but I kinda liked it. It always takes me a while to churn out a chapter cause I write it, make lots of changes to it and then proofread it at least three times before publishing.

Nyx's Reincarnation: Thanks for the review! You're very encouraging.

Fiona Siona: Hahah they are perfect for each other! Hahah you adorable Liam Payne fangirl.


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